LEGS: Visual Localization Enhanced by 3D Gaussian Splatting
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Accurate six-degree-of-freedom (6-DoF) visual localization is a fundamental component for modern mapping and navigation. While recent data-centric approaches have leveraged Novel View Synthesis (NVS) to augment training datasets, these methods typically rely on uniform grid-based sampling of virtual cameras. Such naive placement often yields redundant or weakly informative views, failing to effectively bridge the gap between sparse, unordered captures and dense scene geometry. To address these challenges, we present LEGS (Visual Localization Enhanced by 3D Gaussian Splatting), a trajectory-agnostic synthetic-view augmentation framework. LEGS constructs a joint set of 6-DoF camera pose proposals by integrating a coarse 3D lattice with the Structure-from-Motion (SfM) camera graph, followed by a visibility-aware, coverage-driven selection strategy. By utilizing 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS), our framework enables high-throughput, scene-specific synthesis within practical computational budgets. Experiments on standard benchmarks and an in-house dataset demonstrate that LEGS consistently improves pose accuracy and robustness, particularly in scenarios characterized by sparse sampling and co-located viewpoints.
Source: Journal of Imaging
Authors: Daewoon Kim, I-gil Kim
Institution: Korea Telecom (South Korea)
Language: English
Subfield: Aerospace Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,172
OpenAlex ID: W7129020162
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